When Landry Fields darted along the baseline to the basket, Kyle Lowry managed to find him.

Lowry played with hustle and poise in his Raptors debut and combined with Fields like they were longtime teammates on Wednesday in Toronto’s 104-101 pre-season victory over the Washington Wizards.

“(Lowry) has sea legs right now and it affected his shot, but you can see he’s a rolling pin going to the basket, he gets to where he wants to go with the ball, he’s heady, he sees things that other people don’t see, he got Landry going, cutting moving off the ball, which was huge,” said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. “Those things you can’t teach. He’s a true leader.”

Fields scored 15 points while Lowry had 14 of his own to go along with six assists.

Trevor Booker had 12 points to top the Wizards (1-4), while Emeka Okafor, Martell Webster, Jan Vesely and Bradley Beal had 11 apiece.

The Raptors trailed 77-73 heading into the fourth quarter of a game that had seen 15 lead changes.

Toronto managed to build a three-point lead with a minute left in the game and led by a point when Lowry drained two free throws with 13 seconds left to seal it.

Lowry started after missing the first three games of the exhibition schedule — and a good chunk of Toronto’s training camp in Halifax — with a groin injury.

Casey had said that Lowry needed to shake off the rust. But the point guard scored the Raptors’ first points off a steal and drive to the hoop, and didn’t slow down, in front of a crowd of 11,750 that included Jon Bon Jovi and former Raptor Tracy Murray.

“It was great, I had fun, just trying to get my legs under me,” Lowry said. “I was a little bit winded, but it was great to get back out there.”

During a strong stretch in the third quarter, Lowry repeatedly found Fields cutting to the basket.

“I thought (Fields) did an excellent job, running the floor, back-cutting, moving without the ball,” Casey said. “Those things you can’t teach, those are instinctive plays, we have them in but a lot of times guys freeze over there, get like a magnet on the three-point line, but he did a great job of cutting, moving without the ball.”

Fields said finally having Lowry on the floor was a big boost to the team.

“He’s a fantastic player, he demands a lot out of his teammates, so when we’re out there we want to give it our best,” he said.

Who will start at point guard has been one of the storylines of training camp. Calderon came off the bench to do a decent job of running an energetic second unit, and hit a pair of big three-pointers in the fourth quarter.

Jonas Valanciunas, the Raptors’ fifth pick in the 2011 draft, also continues to generate a buzz with his play just three games into his tenure in Toronto. The big Lithuanian brought his teammates on the bench to their feet with a first-quarter play that saw him pump fake twice before blowing by Okafor for a one-handed dunk.

“He is a very strong player and very active,” Okafor said of guarding Valanciunas. “He is a difficult player to play against because he is high energy and is always moving, always doing something.”

Toronto’s Andrea Bargnani got kicked in the left calf in the third quarter and left the game. Raptors officials said the injury isn’t related to the strained calf that kept him out of 35 games last season.

Toronto has started off slowly in each of its games in the pre-season and Wednesday was no exception as the Raptors trailed 34-24 heading into the second.

“We’ve got to get our motors going quicker,” Casey said. “We don’t have two or three minutes to warm up and get loose and get into the game.”

The Raptors shot 55 per cent in the second — and held the Wizards to 24 per cent from the field — to lead 54-49 at halftime.

and the kid is only 20..
so far I like what I see, what impresses me is his strength, I thought he would be skinnier, but I guess I was seeing high-lights from when we drafted him.. but he is strong, has a good feel for the game, and a good foul shooter

yea it is early, but any slump he has is acceptable at this point of his young career

Alex

10-18-2012 12:41 PM

Didn't know he had some mid range game to him, hopefully he uses it selectively it stays near the paint.

wchoi213

10-18-2012 01:24 PM

If Val has a great mentor who could teach and improve his inside offense, this kid will be an all-star player in 5 years. :cookie:

wchoi213

10-18-2012 01:31 PM

By the way, does anyone know where Terrence Ross was?

jeffb

10-18-2012 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wchoi213
(Post 690036)

By the way, does anyone know where Terrence Ross was?

Sat out with a sore knee

wchoi213

10-18-2012 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffb
(Post 690044)

Sat out with a sore knee

I see. Hope it's not a serious one :S

I want to see Ross playing a full season with 20+ min playing time, so we can judge whether he was a right pick or not...

MikeToronto

10-18-2012 04:49 PM

Well, the way he shoots free-throws, one would think he has a pretty reliable mid-range shot. ;)

That drive'n'dunk was awesome! :yeah:

bjjs

10-18-2012 08:03 PM

Valanciunas is doing exactly what I wanted Bosh to develop, which is turning around in the post with the ball extended as high as possible and shooting with almost all wrist.

I don't remember Val employing such a high release in international play - I think this is something the Raps' coaching staff must be teaching him. Love it. I think he was 1/2 shooting with that release yesterday, and if he stays with it, that's going to open up a deadly post game going forward

Superjudge

10-18-2012 08:09 PM

Sweet V just needs PT and thats it. Once he's calm, and things are second nature..ie. knowing where to be, timing, keeping the ball high and stying patient on his moves...he's gonna be pretty decent I think.

Dario

10-18-2012 10:37 PM

Tbh im seeing a lot of gasol comparissons, I see val as way more agressive then pau though, i like gasols post moves, but i want more of a agressive C then a post C, bargs can do what gasol does in the post, (in some aspects)

LOG

10-18-2012 11:01 PM

The fact that he plays differently than anyone else in the league doesn't mean that we desperately have to find a comparison, he is not Dwight, Gasol, KG, or Chandler. His game (even if not developed yet) is unique and there is nothing wrong with that

Dario

10-18-2012 11:31 PM

i see more a chandler in him, but yeah it is good to compare, because we get expectations, which is good.

Northern Neighbour

10-19-2012 12:03 AM

JV has much more offensive upside than Chandler, who doesn't even have a go-to offensive move.

Hard to compare JV to anyone at this time since he's still developing and getting a feel for the NBA game. He could be the next Sabonis or the next Bynum or maybe he busts and is the next Eddy Curry.

Dario

10-19-2012 12:52 AM

from what i've seen, the worst that could happen is a biedrens with a FT shot and midrange game, lol.

Bargn88

10-19-2012 01:02 AM

It's amazing comparing how Val is playing right now, with how Hoffa played in the preseason back when he was drafted.

Usually young players look a little akward, and need time to adjust, but I don't see anything wrong with Val.

Aside from a couple turnovers, he looks like he's been in the NBA for at least a year or two.

LET'S GO RAPTORS!!!!!

10-19-2012 01:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bargn88
(Post 690189)

It's amazing comparing how Val is playing right now, with how Hoffa played in the preseason back when he was drafted.

Usually young players look a little akward, and need time to adjust, but I don't see anything wrong with Val.

Aside from a couple turnovers, he looks like he's been in the NBA for at least a year or two.

Well he has a lot of non-nba experience, which is helpful. Also, was the most talked about prospect in a country where basketball is truly (and clearly) the biggest sport.

Dario

10-19-2012 02:20 AM

Val has a lot of experience, playing for his country team has helped him a lot, and on the u18 team playing against US etc

Nites

10-19-2012 04:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wchoi213
(Post 690035)

If Val has a great mentor who could teach and improve his inside offense, this kid will be an all-star player in 5 years. :cookie: